Fun House Mirrors
by Super Sonic Pizza Delivery
Summary: Sonic the Hedgehog is a hero beyond compare. Yet, when he wakes up in a human body, he is told that his real name is James West, and he needs treatment for his delusions. Who will he believe; the two that seem so much like his friends who tell him that his world is a farce created to cope with life? Or the stranger that tells him that he alone remembers the truth of their past?
1. First Group Session

**CHAPTER ONE**

Machines exploded in droves behind Sonic as he ran through the latest of Eggman's bases. Sparks flew everywhere, but by the time they ignited, the blue hedgehog was long gone, happily bashing in another robot's circuits. "Gosh, Eggman," he said, a cocky grin crossing his face, "you'd think by now, you'd come up with something original."

Sonic didn't know what exactly the plan was this time. He only got the small video message from one of Eggman's messenger robots, briefly telling him that he was building a new device that would "make Sonic irrelevant," then self destructing and filling his house with black smoke. Maybe he shouldn't have come running with so little knowledge, but Sonic had a taste for adventure. Nothing quite got the adrenaline going like running at the speed of sound and kicking robot butt. So he took off at the first sound of trouble.

He finished making his way down the corridor when he noticed rather large robot, coming up fast. The doctor was inside, chuckling with evil glee. "I've got you now, Sonic!" he yelled through the plastic of the cockpit, "now prepare to meet your doom!"

The blue hedgehog looked at the robot. Sure, it was big, but plenty of Eggman's robots were big. This one didn't have blades coming off of it, or wings, or rockets, even. It just had large metal fists. _This is almost too easy_, Sonic thought as he ran up to it, beginning to hit it with a spin dash. It stepped out of the way, evading the attack but not countering it. Sonic jumped back at it, and it moved aside a second time, stepping backwards. _Hold still, you,_ he thought, jumping at it a few more times, but it just kept moving backwards, barely avoiding the attacks each time. _What fun is a robot that won't fight back?_ he thought, but attacked it all the same. If it was an invention of Eggman's, there had to be something about it. Maybe it was waiting for him to get tired?

Like that would work. Sonic never got tired.

After a few more jumps and steps, the robot finally got into a real fighting position. "Come and get me, Sonic!" Eggman hollered, a laugh escaping his lips. _The Doctor must be going nuts,_ Sonic thought. _Of all the schemes of his, this has to be the dumbest thing I've ever seen him pull._ He laid into the robot, pounding it over and over. And though it would throw the occasional punch, it seemed almost... halfhearted. What's going on here, Sonic wondered, finally reducing the robot to scrap metal. As he reached to lift the layer of plastic away and grab Eggman, he reached out and felt... air? "What the...?"

Laughter came from both inside the robot and above him, and the "Eggman" inside the robot flickered away. "A hologram?" Sonic asked aloud as he turned his head towards the chuckling from above him.

"Do you like it, Sonic? Just enough to keep you distracted, I'm sure. But with each attack of my robot, you got closer and closer to my trap!" Before Sonic could react, a metal cage came up around him, ensnaring him inside. He tried moving against the bonds, but to no avail; it was tight, and it was strong. "Just going to put me inside a box, Eggman? You've really got no other ideas?"

The Doctor flashed a wide, toothy grin. "You'll see soon enough just how stuck you are."

Electricity shot through the cage. _Is he trying to murder me?_ Sonic began to panic. He was fading fast...

A young man sat in a metal chair, leaning back slightly. It creaked slightly, and the other three people in the room eyed it warily, expecting it to slip out from underneath him. It didn't though. "That's the last thing I remember, Doc. When I woke up, I was here, and stuck in this weird body," the young man said, putting his hands behind his head. His hair was the bright blue that anybody could see was from a bottle, but for some reason, he insisted it was real. Or, at least, the blue color was real in his memories.

The therapy group (or whatever it was that they called it- Sonic hadn't been paying attention) listened with varying levels of attention. There were four people in the room in total: himself; a tall, dark-skinned man with red streaks in his hair who was grumbling under his breath for a smoke; a giant of a man with fiery red hair that, unlike his own, was 100 percent authentic; and a short man wearing a blue pantsuit and glasses, taking notes in a leather bound notebook with a fountain pen. The short man reminded Sonic a lot of Orbot, one of Doctor Eggman's robot companions, but he thought it wise not to tell him that. The man was already looking at him like he was crazy. Which, as everyone had been telling him since he woke up in this place, everybody thought he was.

"I see. So the delusions haven't been going away, James?"

"I've already told you, that's not my name!" Sonic put his hands down on the chair, "It's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog! I'm not this, this James person everybody seems to think I am."

The red head chuckled. "Here we go again," he said, crossing his arms.

The man pushed up his glasses and readied his pen at his notepad. "And what do you mean by that, Zachariah?"

His giant hands opened and closed into fists. "Well, it's just, has this guy ever looked into a mirror? He's a flesh and blood person. Now I can understand crazies like that one girl that thought she was a genie-"

"Please use positive language. Crazy is a negative term, and we want to empower each other, not tear each other down. And Shahra was discharged years ago with no evidence of mental illness, so the implication of the word doesn't apply."

"Whatever. All I'm saying is, at least she realized she looked like a human being. But whenever this guy says he's a hedgehog, I can't help but laugh. He's got human hands, don't he? Plain in front of him!"

"I'm not human!" Sonic yelled, putting his hand to his chest. "I don't know how I got stuck in a human body, but once I find out how this happened, I'm gonna change myself back."

"You don't even know much about hedgehogs. You always talk about eating chili dogs and running at impossible speeds, even though hedgehogs eat crickets and are extremely slow."

"What are you, a botanist?"

"I think you're looking for zoologist. Botanist is for plants. And I've just spend a bunch of time in museums, is all. It's where the Master is, anyway."

The dark skinned man groaned. "You two are both deluded. I keep telling you, Zach, it's just a dumb rock."

"It has the powers of the universe, man! Don't toy with me."

"Toys are for children. Like you."

"What!?"

The man in the blue pantsuit put his hands up, and the two of them stopped bickering. It almost surprised Sonic; neither of them seemed the type to listen to anyone. "Now, James," he said, emphasizing the foreign name, "your spontaneous amnesia, especially combined with your already existing delusion, worries me. Tell me- do you remember my name?"

Sonic sized the man up. Squinting, he began to see a slight resemblance to someone he used to know. "I don't know. But you act just like Orbot."

The man scribbled in his notebook. "Ah, yes, one of the many robots made by this..." he said, looking through his notebook, "Doctor Eggman, is it?" Sonic nodded. "I see. Well, I am not Orbot. I am flesh and blood, and my name is Doctor Tucker. Does that ring any bells?" Sonic shook his head. The man sighed. "Oh, well. You'll gain the memories of this place back in time, I'm sure."

A light tone rang through the room. The short man shrugged his shoulders as he picked up his leatherbound notebook. "Ah, it looks as though our time for group is up. I'll see you all tomorrow. Oh, and remember; the new patient is coming in today. Be nice to him," he said, looking at the dark skinned man, "all of you."

He doctor left the room, and the other three were unsupervised, gathering their things. Sonic didn't know what to do or where to go next, so he just waited for the others to finish so he could follow them. The sooner he figured this place out, the sooner he could get out. The dark man grumbled under his breath as he grabbed his leather jacket off the chair, "I wonder what kind of crazy he is if he has to go to a place like this?"

The red haired man scowled. "I heard he's delusional. Something about coming from the future or something like that. All I know is that he's just a kid."

"How old, exactly?"

"Fourteen. Or so it said on his records. He didn't have any family or anything, just a kid they found on the street, so they approximated his age."

The dark haired man scowled. It seemed to suit his face. "I often wonder how you come about this information so easily."

The red head smirked. "When it comes to the hospital's supposedly private files, I'm a regular treasure hunter. It's my secret."

"Whatever. I don't actually care that much."

The two stopped talking as they realized that Sonic (or James, as they knew him) had been staring at the two of them for the past several minutes. "What are you looking at?" the dark man barked at him.

"He got amnesia, right? He probably doesn't remember the schedule," the red head pitched in. The dark skinned man put his palm to his forehead and groaned. "It shouldn't be my job to babysit someone who's lost his mind."

"Well I would do it, but you see, I don't want to. And besides, something tells me he's just your type."

"What are you implying?"

A smirk crossed the giant man's face. "Bright. Happy. A bottom."

The dark skinned man ran up to him and slammed him against the wall. His eyes were cold in their glare, unwavering as the red haired man grunted from impact. "Don't presume to know anything about me, Zach. You may have been some big shot out there, but in here, you don't stand a chance against me."

The red head's grin didn't fade. "Heh, don't make me laugh. I mean, look at the size of you. You're barely bigger than James."

"Hey!" Sonic yelled, not realizing at first that he responded to the name, but before he could think too much about it he interrupted by the dark skinned man. "And I'm sure that you, with all your fighting experience as a museum guard, can beat one of the gang leaders of Team Dark."

"Former former gang leaders, if I understand it. What was it, again? Aliens tried taking over the world or something, right? At least, that's what you keep saying."

"Black Doom came upon us and I had to act. Why is that so hard for people to believe?"

"Because it's insane!"

One of the orderlies came in the room, attracted by the noise, and put himself between the two men, who looked like they were on the brink of actual blows. "Hey, knock it off! It's time for lunch." The two men dropped each other, keenly aware that if they didn't stop they might get a needle of what one of the cheerful nurses called "happy juice" shoved in their arm. Sonic had the misfortune of getting one a few hours after he woke up in this place; he felt nauseous and dizzy for three hours, to the point where he couldn't walk straight.

That was one of the things that really bugged him. He didn't know what kind of place this was, but a few things were very certain; there were a lot of rules, and breaking the rules was out of the question. Compliance was never his strong suit, but as long as he had to wait here, figuring out what happened to him, he figured he should do what the people say. It was only temporary, after all. Once he found out how to get back to normal, and back to his own home, he'd show them what the blue blur was really made of.

The dark skinned man went back to his aloof expression, walking out the door under the careful eye of the orderly. Sonic picked up his bags to go after him before the orderly lifted his hand. "James, you're getting lunch later. Doctor Gordon wants an individual session with you today. You should follow me."

'James' sighed and walked behind the orderly, looking at the metal walls only barely covered with paint. It was true, this human body wasn't hungry, but he had hoped the break would give him time to think. How did he get to be in this strange world, and if there he was the only one this happened to, then why did everyone he came across remind him so much of his friends? He looked at his hands as he walked, still amazed by just how small they were. Humans always had smaller hands than Mobians, and they hardly ever wore gloves except when it was cold outside. The fingernails hadn't been trimmed in some time, and there were some light bruises on the fleshy end of his fists. It was the mark of someone who constantly pounded on a door, yet Sonic had no memory of doing such a thing. Maybe whoever this James person was did it before Sonic got stuck in his body.

Yeah, that must be it. This wasn't his body. Not really. It was somebody elses. And either they switched, or the real guy was just buried deep down somewhere. He must be so scared, Sonic thought. He's trapped on my world, in a weird body, and everybody's probably expecting him to save the world. He probably hasn't even broken the sound barrier before - how's he going to stop Eggman?

And if he's in this body, then he just watches me messing around, figuring all this stuff out that he already knows. He must be bored as heck by now. Even more reason to figure this out as soon as possible; it's not just me at stake here. It's him too.

Something deep inside him stirred, and he stopped for a moment. The orderly gave him an odd look, but he didn't notice. The feeling passed as quickly as it came, and Sonic felt slightly off putted. "I really need to get some sleep," he said aloud. "I think I'm losing it."

The orderly didn't rely.

He put his hand on his head, the cool palm easing a light throbbing in his head. The pale pink skin made him wonder just how much he still looked like himself; he had yet to look in a mirror since he got here.

The orderly stopped suddenly, gesturing at a door. "We're here anyway. Might as well go in."

Sonic realized he was still staring at his hands. He suddenly felt foolish, sticking them in the pockets of his jeans and rocking back and forth on his feet. The orderly turned the knob slowly, and he stepped through. He was greeted by a short man with a square jaw, wearing the most garish cream colored suit Sonic had ever seen. He adjusted his glasses and sat down in his leather chair.

"Hello, James. Let's start today's session."

**((This story is the more serious of the two I am writing right now. It my not update as often; it's difficult to write and write well. But I've had this concept rolling around in my head for a while. Please enjoy, and as always, reviews and favorites are greatly appreciated.))**


	2. Ogilvie and Gerald

**CHAPTER TWO**

Sonic was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of books in the room. Two shelves lined each side, both in complete disarray, to the point where he wondered if there was any kind of organizational system. The one to his left was filled with mostly old paperbacks and bound volumes of folklore and mythology, while the one to the right had medical journals and thick psychology books that threatened to break the shelves from their sheer weight. Interspersed with all the books were trinkets and photographs, but he couldn't tell what exactly they were pictures of without looking more closely. He would've thought it was a library or a storage room if it weren't for the man in the cream suit, peering at him inquisitively.

"You look at the bookshelves as though you've never seen them before," the man said, a bit of surprise coming through. For a stout man, he had a high pitched voice, and though others may have found it annoying, for some reason it made Sonic more relaxed. It was almost familiar.

"I haven't," Sonic said, approaching the shelf with the paperbacks. "It's quite the collection. Mind if I look around a bit?"

"No, go on ahead. You borrow books from me all the time."

Sonic glared at him a little before turning back to the bookshelf. "You mean this James West guy borrowed books from you all the time." Even as he said it, he realized that the anger behind it had dulled to annoyance. It was almost a standard greeting to him now, telling these people that this wasn't who he was. The human man, with bright blue hair that obviously came from a bottle, who lived in this strange building, who borrowed books from this man... it wasn't him. But no matter how much he tried telling people here who he really was, they all made the same face as the man in front of him; one of pity.

He hated being pitied.

"I suppose this memory fragmentation that Doctor Tucker told me about is somehow affecting your ability to remember this room," the man said, pushing up his glasses. "I assure you, I mean you no disrespect. I only want you to get better."

Sonic paused in the middle of pulling a book from the shelf to look at the doctor. "Memory fragment- what?"

"Ah, yes. We'll talk about that today. After all, this is your first time 'seeing me,' so you're bound to be confused. I'll help you learn a little bit about this place, because even though it's not, I'll treat it like it's your first session. Does that sound okay to you?"

Sonic didn't know how to respond. He didn't want to be here; that was a fact. But as of right now, he had no means of getting back home, no plan, and no allies to speak of. This man seemed nice enough - at least he didn't yell at him about being delusional, like everyone else in this place - but the day he gave up even a piece of who he was for someone else's benefit would be the darkest day in his life. In the end, he just stayed silent, flipping through the book he pulled out, not even bothering to look at the title.

"My name is Doctor Gordon. I'm one of the practitioners here," the man said, trying to get the ball rolling. "Why don't we start with what you remember about this world?"

"Not a thing," Sonic replied with no hesitation. "This place completely baffles me, and I can't seem to get back to where I come from."

"Where you come from? Where would that be?"

"Mobius. A big blue planet, filled with friends and adventure." A small smile broke across his face at the memories of home. It had only been a few days, but it felt like a lifetime ago. "I've been all over the place. It's so beautiful and open, and right about now the leaves just finished changing color. Not like here, with nothing but walls."

Doctor Gordon turned his head. "Actually, Earth is a much bigger place than just our facility. You're in here because a loved one wanted you to have a safe environment to overcome your delusions without having the stigma of a diagnosis. It's private, and most people can leave whenever they want. Of course, we certainly don't encourage that, and you cannot leave freely yourself."

"Why not?"

"We have a court order for you. You got in trouble for destruction of property, and it was either here, a state asylum, or prison. This was an easy choice."

Sonic shook his head and put the book down. "I'd never choose this for myself."

The room fell silent for a moment, and Sonic became aware of a faint ticking from a clock in the corner. It was automated - the ticking was just for effect. It displayed the time and date in bright blue lights. 12:32 pm. September 18, 2010.

"Ah, Mobius." Once again, the doctor started talking to him, trying to ease conversation out of him. "That's an interesting name. And I bet I can tell you where you got it from."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Where I got it from?"

The doctor chuckled. "Nothing comes from a vacuum, after all. Why don't I take you on a quick walk through the facility while we get to it. If you don't recognize my office you must be getting lost all over the place here."

He was about to ask what vacuum cleaners had to do with anything when he considered the doctor's proposal. Know your enemy. See the perimeter. Maybe even get out, if he could find an exit. Sounded good to him. "Yeah, sure Doc. Let's go."

* * *

Making his way around the facility, he could already see many faint resemblances to his world. Very faint, but just noticeable enough to catch the eye. Instead of wards, the people who worked in this place called the different sections of the building "zones." Inpatient zone. Outpatient zone. Dining zone. Sleeping zone. Creative Zone. It seemed a peculiar choice of names to Sonic, but the Doctor just shrugged, saying that it was one of this hospital's eccentricities and that nobody usually questioned it.

"Old Ogilvie was big on creativity and active movement. He said that the key to accepting the circumstances of life was to express how you were part of it. He made art and exercise a mandatory part of the stay here. Now, Gerald, he wasn't so keen on it. He said that everything had a scientific explanation, and that all of the problems that kids like you have when you come in are caused by imbalances in the brain. They got along well enough, and with a combination of the two ideals, Ogilvie and Gerald founded this facility."

"Ogilvie and Gerald?"

"Yeah. It was back in my grandfather's time. Have you heard the names before?"

"I think so. Somewhere. But I'm drawing a blank," Sonic admitted.

"Shocker." The doctor and Sonic turned around and saw the dark skinned person from his session that morning. "Good afternoon, Doctor," he said, the deep tremor of his voice reminding Sonic of Shadow once again. It sounded just like when the black hedgehog would address Eggman. That is, before he smashed his robots to pieces.

"Hello, Titus. Are you supposed to be walking around unaccompanied? You know we have rules against such things."

"Didn't you hear? I'm designated high functioning, now. As long as I don't leave the place and don't talk about the aliens, I'm okay to do whatever I want."

Sonic rolled his eyes. Mr. Nobody–Tells–Me–What–To–Do, having to ask permission for moving around the building? It just seemed so... beneath him.

"Don't give me attitude, James." The dark skinned man said, his red eyes glaring daggers into his own. Upon closer inspection, the blue haired one saw that they were, in fact, contacts. "Just because you can't get your shit together doesn't mean you can mock the ones who do."

"Now, now, Titus. A little less negativity would do you some good. Getting angry won't solve your problems."

"I'm not angry. Why does everyone think I'm angry? I'm just tired."

The dark skinned man shrugged, but he didn't try talking to Sonic again. _Titus. Is that what they call you here, Shadow? _A bit of sadness seeped on Sonic's face. Shadow was proud of who he was, but here, it didn't matter.

"In any case," Titus said, "I'm trying to let the doctors give me a bit more leeway so I can see your one man show, Doctor. You've been practicing for long enough."

The doctor in the cream colored suit blushed. "Aw, I'm embarrassed. Did I really do it that much?"

"This guy said that you kept getting different voice chips. I would think so."

Sonic looked at the Doctor with a bit of surprise on his face. "Cubot?" he said, just now putting the pieces together. The Doctor only laughed.

"Yes, well, that is what you used to call me. Said I was 'one of Eggman's robots.'" I assure you, I'm just as much flesh and blood as you are."

"Although," Titus pitched in, "he can imitate a robot quite well."

"Don't encourage him, Titus. In any case, we should be going. I believe you should as well."

The dark skinned man nodded. "Sure. I'll see the both of you around."

He walked away and left Doctor Gordon - or was it Cubot? Sonic didn't know what to call him anymore - alone with Sonic. "You never said –"

"I didn't think it was conducive to getting used to your surroundings. I did not mean to decieve you."

They continued to walk down the halls, Sonic lowering his head and refusing to talk to the Doctor. Yes, it was immature, no doubt about it. After all, if he was observant, the signs were there. The other doctor was Orbot, and there was a bit of resemblance. But Cubot was normally bumbling and stupid, and this person was kind and educated. He was the only person here who treated him with respect. Eggman's robots never did that.

Although, he reasoned, now that he thought about it, the robots themselves, even back in his home world, never wanted to cause him harm. Not really. They just reacted to him as their programming allowed. If they really were flesh and blood here, then maybe...

No. This was all a trick. Some sort of simulation, or magic. In any case, Eggman was behind this, somehow. He couldn't be caught guard. No matter how real it all seemed. He knew who he was. He wouldn't question it.

The two of them came to a large door. Out of the door, Sonic couldn't believe his eyes - it looked like some of the rolling hills of Green Hill Zone, only smaller. Small flowers bloomed in spurts, and the sidewalk was checkered. A small stream, obviously artificial, ran through, and little bridges crossed it. It was beautiful – just like home.

"Ogilvie and the patients at the time designed the entrance area," Doctor Gordon said, "so it's a bit more, er, colorful than Doctor Tucker would like. I guess that in this generation of people working here, I'm more of the Ogilvie and he's more of the Gerald. The actor and the researcher. The artist and the analyst. It's almost like a comedy."

Sonic didn't reply, instead dipping his ungloved hand into the water. Eyes widened at the cool sensation – if this was a simulation, it must've taken months, no, years to put together. It was so lifelike.

"And the reason we came here. James West, take a look over the door, if you please."

Sonic didn't feel like correcting the Doctor about his name, instead turning around and immediately being stunned into silence.

In bold letters, a sign over the facility read _Ogilvie Maurice Mobius Center for Troubled Youth_. "Now," Doctor Gordon said, "I think I can say 'Welcome to the Mobius Center!'"

**((Yes, I know this is updating slow. I'm trying to get a good chapter up and plan ahead more often. And, also, I'm trying to reply to reviews as well. In any case, here's the next chapter of Fun House Mirrors. I hope you keep reading!))**


	3. Beans

**CHAPTER THREE: Beans**

Sonic came to the conclusion that the cafeteria tried too hard to be cheery.

Every five steps in the line there was a new painting on the wall, almost all with bright colors and failed attempts at capturing flowers or a still life. In the corner were scribbled names, the kind of handwriting that is not practiced for the purpose of signing pictures, which matched well with paintings made by hands that were not practiced at painting. Despite the bright colors, they almost felt... sad.

He approached the front of the food line and was handed a plate with misshapen meatloaf, a bruised apple, grey green beans, and a cup of water. It wasn't completely revolting, sure, but it certainly didn't look good, and if had eaten in the past three days, he wouldn't even consider this kind of food. However, as it stood, he hadn't, and so he chewed and swallowed the mediocre meal with gusto, not even pausing to look at the others in the room. Sonic was not stranger to going hungry; he'd chased down robots through deserted areas many times before, living off of whatever he could scavenge in the lateness of the evenings, when even he could not run any longer. In this body, though, he didn't know how often he'd need to eat, or how much. Apparently, it needed to be spaced out more, multiple meals a day, less food. Another thing to get used to.

He remembered his first hour after "waking" here. He hadn't even registered at first the body he was in. No, his first reaction was to his surroundings. The flat mattress on the metal bed next to the grey walls. Stifling. Small. Everything that Sonic hated. Of course, he tried to run; get away, don't think, just move. It was almost instinctive to him. But after two steps in, he tripped over his own feet, and his chin hit the solid ground, biting his cheek. It started to bleed, and he put his hand up to stop the bleeding... only to see what his hand actually looked like.

One of the orderlies had come in, trying to see why he screamed, and though the orderly thought it was because he was bleeding so much from the mouth, the appearance of that person just made Sonic's screams louder. That's how he knew that things were not right here. That he wasn't right.

Getting enough food to stop the grumbling, Sonic began to slow, finally looking up at the others in the room. They avoided eye contact with him, only looking when they thought he wasn't. The other... patients? Inmates? He didn't know the proper term... avoided him, mostly. Sonic had acted out his first few days, but was beginning to think he should've been a bit more calm. Maybe then he'd have allies... or at least someone to talk to. Now he didn't have anyone. The only person he had trusted was that Doctor, and he turned out to be just another robot, just another fake...

"Mind if I sit here?"

Sonic looked up from his meatloaf to see a girl. Her hair was a lavender purple and pulled back in a short ponytail. Her amber eyes looked at him with curiosity. Catlike. He smirked. It was only fitting. He felt like he was meeting an old friend all over again.

"Sure. Nothing wrong with eating with a pal."

"...right... Okay."

She settled down across the table from him, the same food as him on her own tray. She poked at her green beans, pushing them around the tray without biting into them. He didn't blame her; they were nasty, obviously from a can.

"The beans are cold, aren't they?" he said, putting a smile on his face.

"What about it?"

"Well..." he stumbled. Making conversation with her was harder than expected. "Aren't you going to heat them up?"

She blinked. "We aren't allowed to use the kitchen without a note from the doctors," she stated with certainty. He laughed nervously; that was probably something he was already supposed to know.

"But aren't you the one with the fire –"

"Have you met the new guy yet?" she asked him, cutting up the still untouched green beans and cutting off his sentence.

"New guy?"

"Yeah. I think I knew him once... a long time ago. Out there."

"Really?" Sonic said with a mouthful of meatloaf in his mouth. He swallowed with a large gulp. Most of the food was gone at this point. "I haven't met him yet, but I think he's supposed to be in my group therapy, or whatever you call it."

She sighed. "I'm sure he is. But that's not why I asked."

His eyes widened. "Why did you ask?"

She grabbed her arm uncomfortably and looked back at her tray. He hadn't noticed before, but she wore a long purple coat with white cuffs. It seemed like Blaze's, back in his own world, but he was surprised people would wear it here. Everybody else was in short sleeves, and it was quite warm.

He knew the story of Blaze's own coat. She controlled the power of the Sol Emeralds, and through it the power of flame. All she would say is that the coat kept the flames contained, that one screw up could let them loose and hurt someone. He didn't ask how she knew this, and she wouldn't tell him; it didn't appear to be a topic she was keen on talking about, and he didn't like making people dispirited unnecessarily.

This girl treated the coat like a security blanket, clutching the sleeves with narrow fingers, but he doubted it contained flames like Blaze's. This world didn't work like that.

She exhaled sharply. "Your old roommate moved out a while ago. I think the new guy is supposed to be living with you. That's why I was asking"

"Roommate?"

She blinked. "Yeah. It was that guy... I think you called him Big once, and the name stuck with everybody else. They said that they didn't couldn't give him the help he needed here, so he went to the state hospital. It's a shame. He was a nice guy."

"Big..." That was a name Sonic had not heard in a long time, even back when the world was as it should be. It is true, he had not seen him for a long time... but they were never really that close to begin with. He mostly talked to Amy and Cream, if anyone.

She kept talking, as though he had said nothing. "Do you remember that frog he always had around?"

Sonic nodded his head and smiled. "Oh, you mean Froggy?"

"That's what he called it," a small smile crossing her face, "and he'd chase it around the garden out front. I've never seen someone who could honestly say that a frog was his best friend."

Sonic let himself laugh. It felt good. "Sounds like Big alright. Did he like fishing too?"

"Well, he used to have a stick that he'd call a pole, and he'd stick it in the stream. Drove the doctors crazy, trying to figure out why. I guess that's your theory."

"Yeah, well if you believe those doctors, we're all crazy!"

The smile faded from her face and she turned her attention back to the food on her plate. "Yeah..." she muttered, pushing around the green beans again.

Just as fast as they had gotten talking, everything fell silent again. _That was fast,_ Sonic thought to himself, scraping his fork on the empty tray. Crack, crack, crack...

"If he is your roommate," she said as she stood up, "please tell him to come by my room, alright?"

Sonic stood up as well, and the two of them walked towards the exit, trays in hand. "Well, something tells me the name I know you by isn't the one on your door."

She glanced at him with curiousity, those catlike eyes trembling again. "And what name do you know me by?"

He dropped his tray in the washer, putting his silverware with the rest of the dirty forks and spoons in a cup. "Blaze," he said, hoping for a smidge of recognition.

What he got, however, shocked him. A brief moment of hurt passed on her face before it became neutral, almost cold. He had upset her. It was quite obvious. "I see..." she muttered, "how appropriate." With trembling hands, she put down her tray, not bothering to move anything to its proper place, and started to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" Sonic exclaimed, grabbing the sleeve of her coat. It triggered another unexpected reaction from her; she yanked it out of his hand, and glared at him. He could swear she was hissing at him. If he wasn't sure this girl was like his Blaze before, he was sure now; the anger in her eyes sparked and crackled like a forest fire, aiming to burn him down. He found himself withering, ever so slightly.

"Don't. You. Ever. Touch my coat. Am I clear?"

Sonic opened his hands and took a step back. Why was she so protective? Even the Blaze he knew wasn't so testy. "I just want to know what to call you," he said, ignoring the question.

"..."

"Please. I'll never touch your coat again."

"..."

"I don't have anyone who will talk to me here. I didn't mean to make you angry. Let me do this favor for you so I can make it up to you–"

"Make what up to whom?"

Sonic turned around and saw a familiar face. "Doctor Gordon!"

"Do you owe our Miss Sam Lane a favor of some kind?"

She groaned. "No, Doctor. He doesn't owe me anything. We were just talking."

The doctor smiled, and Sonic could swear the corners of his mouth touched the rims of his glasses. "That's good. Socialization was never your strong suit, and James West certainly does need to talk more to people. It's good you two are pursuing this friendship."

"We're not friends!" she said at the same time as he said, "I'm not James!" The two looked at each other, confused and upset, but not willing to elaborate further.

"Well, you two can chat later. I'm here to take James away from you, Miss Lane."

"You can have him. I was just going to art therapy."

"Aren't you supposed to do pots today? Or was it painting?"

"Painting. We did pots a few days ago. They should be almost ready."

"Good. You always made good pots. Fired very well."

"I'm sure," she said, grabbing her sleeve. Before he could say anymore, she left, leaving behind her tray, loaded with food on it. It was only then that Sonic realized that she had not eaten a single bite.

After what seemed like ages of walking, Sonic and Doctor Gordon finally reached the sleeping quarters, where Titus and Zachariah waited patiently. They leaned against the wall dividing the hallway and the sleeping quarters, one on each side of the door. A small part of Sonic wanted to call out to them, but by which name? Their real names, their true names, Shadow and Knuckles? Or the ones this place called them, the ones they took for themselves? Was it best to stay true to what he knew, or to adapt to the logic of this strange place?

He shook his head, eventually saying nothing. He wouldn't let this place get to him, wouldn't let himself question who he was or where he belonged... but this wasn't a fight that could be fixed by smashing robots or speeding past explosions. This was a mental mission, albeit one he didn't know he'd have to undertake, and since brute force would not get him anywhere, it was best to play along until he could find a way out.

"Ah, Titus, Zach, I see you're already here," the doctor said, calling their attention over.

"Yes, well, Doctor Tucker told us that we had a new guy in the group, and he thought it best to give them a warm welcome," Titus said.

Sonic scoffed to himself. _I wasn't given a warm welcome_, he thought, then reconsidered. In this world, he'd already been here for a long time. How long, he wasn't sure... or for what purpose. He didn't even know who supposedly sent him here.

Blinking, he came to the conclusion that he didn't actually know who James West was at all.

Doctor Gordon shifted his weight forward and back, as though steadily rocking himself. "That was certainly kind of him... almost out of character."

Zachariah laughed. "Yeah, it didn't make sense to me either. But now we're here; can we meet this kid?"

"He's right in his room, resting after what I'm sure was a stressful day. I know rumors have been going around?"

"Yep. He got hit by a car, didn't he?"

"That's how the authorities found him, anyway. Although I'm not at liberty to say more yet. That's up for him to decide."

The doctor gripped the handle of the door and opened it, a slight creak coming from the joints. The figure inside was a mess; hair sticking in all directions, grey sweatsuit ripped and scuffed in different places, and bags under his eyes.

Of course, he recognized the newcomer instantly. The shining white hair was a dead giveaway.

The figure stood up, his amber eyes catching the light as they looked at him with a stare.

"Sonic. I've finally found you."

* * *

**((Apparently, I forgot to put this up. It was ready last week and in my documents and everything, but it must have slipped by. Oh well. It's here. I hope you enjoyed it.))**


	4. Cass

CHAPTER FOUR: Cass

Sonic stood stunned for a moment.

Sonic. He said Sonic.

The doctor and Zachariah either didn't hear him or didn't say anything if they did. Titus glared at him, but like the one he reminded Sonic so much of back at home, it was more of a default state than anything he should be too concerned about. He started to doubt himself. _Was it really Sonic he said? Or am I really that desperate? _His green eyes fixed on the young man in front of him, who even now was looking at him with an old intensity, much like times long ago. If he was right, if this was Silver, than what if something went wrong? The last time his eyes held that kind of vigor, it was when he thought of Sonic as the Iblis Trigger.

Of course, that was another time in itself.

"I'm sorry for the delay, Cass," the doctor said to him, slapping his back with a giant hand, "but you would be surprised how long it took to wrangle up these three. Sometimes I feel less like a doctor and more like a sheep herder." He laughed deep in his throat at his own joke, while the three young men remained stone faced. _Interesting choice of words there, doc,_ Sonic thought, shrugging, but not saying the words aloud.

Realizing his joke fell flat, the doctor sighed, turning to the silver haired man sighed. "Well, anyway, it's about time I introduced you formally. Cass, this is Titus, Zachariah, and James. They'll be in your group sessions, and James will be your roommate."

"I'm not James!" Sonic shouted belligerently. At this point, he didn't care so much that they wouldn't call him Sonic, but the name James didn't stick to him right.

"And I'm not Cass," the other one said, though not as loudly as Sonic did.

The silver haired man's fingers flexed and contracted, over and and over, almost like he was trying to regain muscle memory. Was it possible that he was just as confused in this world as he was? That he was unused to his body?

"Forgive me," the doctor replied to him, but not to Sonic, "it's just that Cass Hayden is the name on your identification. And you haven't told us what name you prefer to be called..."

"Oh, that's easy!" Sonic said, putting his arm around the other's shoulder. Finally, he had someone who understood him, somebody he could really talk to. "He's Silver. Right? An old buddy!"

With a light push, the silver haired man pushed Sonic's hand off his shoulder. The grin dropped from Sonic's face, giving way to a look of mild confusion. "Maybe," he said, blinking slowly. "It sounds kind of right... but Cass..."

The words trailed off into nothingness, and he looked away, as if lost in thought.

"If you don't mind, I'd like it if you stayed away from the kind of names that James might give you. It furthers his own delusions, see."

The silver haired man nodded. "I guess so. I just don't have any other name for myself. A lot of things are... blurry..."

Sonic pitied him. This was Silver, he was pretty sure, but he didn't have the comfort of an identity, whether it be a true one like his own or a false one like all the others in this place. At least Sonic could cling to the memories of home, the rolling greens of Green Hill, the exhilaration of running on Angel Island, the view of a perfect sunrise over the seaside. Silver's own memories were locked away, trapped.

"The doctors at the emergency unit said it was possibly due to minor brain damage, but your behavior around me earlier screams some sort of trauma," the doctor said, mostly to himself. He looked about and blinked a few times, then suddenly stiffened as if remembering the others were there. "Ah, yes, well, um... in any case, it's getting late. Normally, you would participate in a group activity with the others staying here, but for tonight, I thought that the four of you might benefit from time among yourselves. Titus has made significant enough progress that I can trust him to supervise you, as I have to join the others."

Zachariah laughed. "What – no impromptu therapy session?" He shuffled his large sneakers on the floor – man, he had big feet – and shot the Doctor a lopsided grin. The Doctor did not grin back.

"... technically, we call it group adjustment..."

"Yeah yeah yeah, it's all words anyway." He waved his hand – his hands were huge too, how could Sonic have not noticed earlier – and nodded his head in the direction of the empty hallway. "Go on. I'm sure the other doctors would love to know that you were late for work duties because you were too busy chatting with some of the crazies."

"Now, Zachariah, you know better than to call yourself something like that. And besides, I'm not late. It's only–" He glanced at his watch and jumped, his eyes shooting open. "Oh dear! My boss said I was one transgression away from being fired! I have to go!"

In an almost comical show of frenzy, the doctor tried to run away on his short legs, and even though he didn't know how fast running could be in these bodies, Sonic could tell that despite his best efforts, Doctor Gordon's running was_ slow_. Titus and Zachariah laughed, while Sonic could only glance at the newcomer. Silver, or Cass as the others called him, only looked confused.

The next few hours were the most relaxed ones Sonic had in days. All four of them were in the room, sitting two to a bed on opposite sides of the room, and without the doctors or orderlies around, everyone could fully relax. Zachariah sat cross legged on the bed, leaning forward slightly as if he was about to tell a secret. His voice and laughter, however, betrayed the idea, echoing in the small room with each word. His red hair, tied in dreadlocks, fell forward, hitting his face, but he didn't seem to mind.

The open attitude was completely unlike Titus, who sat next to him. He leaned back, crossing his arms and showing an expression of disinterest, rarely speaking at all and certainly not very loud. Sonic remembered the first time they were in sessions together, and he wondered how they could stay in the same room for very long without coming to blows. After a while, the answer seemed simple; though their behavior was different, they had mostly the same goals, and the consequences of getting into a fight here, of all places, would be severe. In between the two of them, oddly matched as they were, almost all of the newcomer's questions were answered, no sugarcoating or cutting corners at all. And that was good, because the questions that he asked were many of the same Sonic had as well.

Apparently, this place tried its best to make clear that it was not technically certified as a hospital; they called the areas "zones" so that nobody would call them wards, and apparently even the doctors and orderlies were supposed to be called specialists and helpers. Of course, some followed these rules more than others, and even the doctors occasionally slipped up. It was only natural.

Calling itself a facility made it easier for each individual doctor and orderly to do what they did best with minimal interference. In hiring, the head of the place liked to divide them into an "Ogilvie" or a "Gerald"; that is, ones that would focus on holistic therapy and ones that would focus on more Western means of treatment. The owner himself was a mad genius, in Zachariah's words, but was rarely seen, as his appearance was unconventional and he busied himself with administrative duties anyway.

"Every person that lives here goes in his office at the beginning of their stay," Zachariah explained, "but very few go again unless there's a big emergency or they're deemed beyond help. He doesn't like to spend time with us; he's more interested in us as a statistic than as actual people."

That didn't sit right with Sonic. "What, do you mean that he doesn't care as long as his facility has a good record?"

"Can you blame him?" Titus said. "We're not exactly a pleasure to be around most of the time, and as long as we're set straight in his mind, there's no reason for him to know us personally. All he needs to know is in our file, anyway."

"File?"

"Yeah," Zachariah said, shifting back and forth. "Every session, every activity, even our nutrition plans – every single aspect of our lives here gets written down or typed up and stuck in a large file. Yours is incredibly thick, actually. I think the doctors find you a real conundrum."

"You're not supposed to look at the files. How would you know that?"

"Please. Doctor Gordon is one of the least organized people I know. He took out James' file once by accident. It must be two inches thick."

"By accident, I'm sure."

The two of them continued to bicker. Cass didn't say anything. Sonic didn't think he had to.

Two hours passed by, and when it was time for the other two to leave, Sonic almost breathed a sigh of relief. Terminology, files, nutrition plans... this place was unnecessarily confusing. Especially considering that he planned to leave it as soon as possible.

Titus looked at him, his eyes still carrying the intensity of Shadow's rich red. "I hope you realize that now that we've explained everything to you, we won't do it again. I do not have patience for such things and, truth be told, Zach is not as mild tempered as he seems."

"What do you mean by that?" the red head shouted. "And for the billionth time, it's Zachariah. Like the biblical figure."

"Really? You seem much more like someone else from the bible to me."

"Who?"

"Samson. Really strong... really stupid... clings on to a girl who only wants to use him..."

"You take that back. Babette and I are not like that!"

"And yet, you mention her by name."

"Why you..."

"Guys," the silver haired one interjected before the conversation got too heated, "Thanks. But you need to go. The orderlies are making their rounds soon."

"Yeah, yeah," Zachariah said, not finishing his explanation. Too bad – Sonic found it interesting. Maybe this Babette person was like somebody he knew.

The second the door closed, he flopped back on his bed, exhaling sharply. He missed his endless energy that he had back when the world was right, when he could literally run all day and then be too wound up to sleep at night. Here, it seemed like all he wanted to do was sleep.

The newcomer looked back, forth, and closed his eyes for a few seconds. After a moment of silence, he jumped up and put his hands on Sonic's shoulders. "The coast is finally clear. I need to talk to you," he said, gripping tightly on the other's shoulder blades.

"Hey hey hey, take it easy, you're going to give me bruises," Sonic replied, but not brushing his hands of the shoulders. "I know that you know something. You called me my real name. Nobody has done that yet – heck, nobody knows that before I tell it to them. But I'm still confused."

"You aren't the only one. I remember some things about myself, and some things about you, but it's all so fractured and isolated... they must have done something to me."

Sonic looked at him warily. It was bizarre; Sonic remembered everything, every excruciating detail. It haunted him here, filled him with a sorrowful nostalgia. He remembered every friend's face, every town, every moment. But Silver couldn't?

"What's so important that you couldn't say in front of them?" Sonic asked him. "If you don't remember anything, what could you say to me?"

"I didn't say I didn't remember anything. I just... don't remember much."

"Then what do you remember?"

"I know I'm from the future, and I know that I visited your time out there, in the real world. I know your name is Sonic and that those guys out there are an awful lot like Knuckles and Shadow. I know we saved the world at least once, but when I try to think about specifics for myself, I fail. All I know is that I am not Cass, and you are not James, and we have to find a way out of here before whatever device they are using to control us finally fully works."

That last sentence peaked his interest. "A device?"

"Well, that's got to be it. Eggman... at least, I think it was Eggman... he was always building things, trying to get you and the others under his control and build his empire. What if you're just seeing what he wants you to see, using up time while he finishes some evil scheme?"

Sonic thought about this for a minute. It fit, sort of. The last thing he could remember of his own world was a fizzle of energy, surrounding him, lulling him to sleep... To his panic, he realized that the specific memory was becoming even more blurry, like something from a dream. "That makes sense. That makes a lot of sense, actually. I think whatever it is, it's starting to affect me."

"That's why time is of the essence. Look, I don't know entirely how to fix this – machines aren't my specialty. But there has to be some kind of failsafe, a way to get out if the device affects someone it's not supposed to. We just have to find it, and punch the code or press the button or do whatever we have to do to get out of here!"

Sonic thought for a moment, back to his old life. That was how Tails would design a product; he always had some safety switch or power down button. Even the occasional self destruct. But would Eggman do the same thing? He was a genius, but he was also a short sighted genius, and a back up plan had never occurred to him before.

Still, having a plan was better than not. "Alright, Silver, we'll look for the way out. But for the moment, we should lie low. We're weak like this, and your powers probably don't work here, so brute force isn't an option. Just cooperate; use Cass, or whatever name they give you, but I'll call you Silver when we are alone. You'll remember who you are. I won't lose sight of who I am." He flashed a large smile and gave a thumbs up, like he would in times past. "And we're gonna get out of here, right.

Silver nodded his head, then shook it, as if he couldn't decide what words to say. In the end, he only had one question. "Powers?"

It was going to be a long stay.


End file.
